Dvorak

by Kurt Honolka, Anne Wyburd (Translator)

Accessible and affordable illustrated biography

Genres: Music

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the great romantic composers, Antonin Dvorak was a nationalist representative of Czech music who over the course of his life developed an international reputation as well. A supreme melodist whose music was informed by the German classical tradition (he had a picture of Beethoven on the wall in his Prague apartment) he wrote works that are still in the repertoire of orchestras world wide. Honolka's biography is chronological in its organization, but it covers thoroughly the travels and personal life of Dvorak while highlighting his active composing career. Dvorak contributed major works in musical genres including the Symphony, Concerto, Opera, Chamber works, and others. My introduction to his work was the famous Slavonic Dances which were the works that brought him his first critical approval including the support of Johannes Brahms. Also worth noting is Dvorak's visit to the United States in 1892. It was there, in New York City, that he conducted the premiere of his Ninth Symphony "From the New World" (op. 95) which would be his last and most famous opus in that genre. He remained in America for three years living in Spillville, Iowa where he composed his "American" String Quartet in F (op. 96) and a String Quintet in E-flat (op. 97). Details like this are augmented by a multitude of illustrations, a chronology of Dvorak's life and a useful index of the composer's works, making this an excellent short introduction to the life and work of Antonin Dvorak.